Lights ON! Spotlight on Creative Processes

Last Saturday the MOW exhibition drew many curious visitors to the ByAMFI Store. Three students from Branding, Design and Management showcased their creative process in projects besides and within AMFI. Their work was presented in engaging wall-covering process book-like installations. Videos invited visitors to listen to the driving forces behind the creation process. Live illustrations captured visitors and allowed a personal experience of art creation first hand. The highlight of the day, were three panel discussions which gave insight into thoughts and struggles behind the creation process as well as their ambition from a young professional within the fashion industry. For those who were not able to come, the organisational team of the exhibition made sure that it was streamed on Instagram Live Stories.

Article by second Year International Fashion & Management Student Annika Langhammer.

Strong female lead at the first panel discussion at MOW! Photography by Ecaterina Vasilieva.

Not only did the artsy installations gave a look behind the scenes, but even more personal insight was given during the first panel discussion of the day. Different topics, such as the emotional process, struggles and self-exploration as a way of self-expression, have been touched on.

How to start a working process? Find the abstract space and transform it into something tangible. According to Ksenia, second year designer student, designing is an emotional process which will finally be expressed through emotional exhibitionism. Her designs are a pure show of emotions presented without any shame. For her, the source of inspiration clearly is derived from the same abstract space, no matter if you are a technical or a creative person.

Other members of the panel agreed that emotions do play a big role in a creative process. It is especially important to be emotionally attached to the starting point of your project as that will be your driving force when encountering issues along the way. Magda, a second year branding student, talked about her experiences of encountering disappointments during the process. She learned to value the importance of mistakes due to a great source of inspiration. They serve as a trigger for even more creative energy which lead to a stronger end product. Especially the hard moments during the project will give you so much more in the end.

Another interesting point that came up during the panel discussion was creating products without having the means that students sometimes would love to have. Result: that would simply be too easy and a lot of our creativity would be wasted. Asher, a second year design student, considers the lack of money as an exciting challenge as he enjoys the beauty of the limitation. That is what ultimately triggers the creative process and in the long run will also support sustainable thinking. Ksenia said: ‘Another person’s trash becomes my treasure’.

The exhibition turned out to be a big success and definitely kicked off the urge for further inspirational and interactive events. Let’s see what comes up next… STAY EXCITED is the hint we, as the Amfi.nl Team, can give you!!